VANISHING NEED OF THE DISCONTINUED NOKIA X SERIES

VANISHING NEED OF THE DISCONTINUED NOKIA X SERIES

With the release of Nokia XL and a rumor about the second generation of the Nokia X series, Microsoft left the masses bewildered by accepting a device so largely dependent on the Finnish brand’s work.

With the release of Nokia XL and a rumor about the second generation of the Nokia X series, Microsoft left the masses bewildered by accepting a device so largely dependent on the Finnish brand’s work. And the bewilderment was absolutely justifiable since the Nokia X series is a blend of two major rivals in the world of operating systems. Sadly, this blend took in the worse of features from the two, leaving behind the best of both. Consequently, the Nokia X series failed to see any runaway success.

A Disastrous Experiment

Nokia X array of phones was a low budget collection of smartphones created by the brand in order to edge people into the pricier and fancier Lumia world. The tech nucleus of Google’s Android system was gelled with designs and services indigenous to Microsoft’s Windows Phone operating system. Android apps were made available on Nokia phones! This way, the Finnish phonemaker attempted to lure the Android-addicted consumers into using phone majorly influenced by a Windows Phone UI.

Nokia and Microsoft have been business partners long before the phone-business-deal came in. Nokia, like a good spouse, tried everything to maintain the relationship. While an attempt was made by the Finnish phonemaker to tempt buyers via Android apps, Nokia also replaced a lot of Google’s services on Android with Microsoft’s services. In this endeavor of appeasing Microsoft, Nokia X series featured Here Maps, Skype and OneDrive instead of Google’s staples like Gmail, Google Maps and Google’s App Store. The home screen in the Nokia X looks every bit like that of a Windows Phone.

The thought process behind this trial was that once the users buy the phone considering its “Android” part, they’ll get accustomed to Windows Phone UI and would then go for the higher-end Lumia phones. However, the plan backfired. While the X series bears the look of Windows, it doesn’t come close when it comes to the ease of operating a windows phone.

X No More

Well, Nokia X series is to prolong no more! After completing the deal to buy Nokia’s phone business in April, Microsoft has now announced discontinuation of the X series.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella is making an attempt to curb the scenario of clashing priorities created by the Nokia X series by cutting up about 14 percent of its staff. This translates to about 18,000 job eliminations in the coming year. While announcing the job cuts, Microsoft also announced that the upcoming Nokia X product designs will be incorporated into the Lumia series of Windows Phone from the brand.

Microsoft has made a rather brave attempt to target the smartphone market with Windows phones alone. However, considering the gradually increasing market for Windows Phone and buyers’ developing interests for something different than regular Android yet as pocket friendly, it seems like a right decision for the time.

While there were some good points about the Nokia X series, like a slot for two SIM cards and affordability, Windows Phones are gradually being given with similar updates and feature thereby reducing the need for Nokia X by a great deal.